A little soul work

Abundance, calm, Choice, dreaming, Energy, extraordinary life, gratitude, guides, healthy, Insights, lessons learned, possibilty, Purpose, Spirituality, Transformation

A recent Louise Hay Facebook post suggested that one should take time to ask and explore these simple questions. Having a little time on my hands, as I recovered from the effects of a vaccine reaction, I decided to do this life audit.

What shall I now release from my life?
Fever creates some clarity and what I am now ready to release unhelpful behaviours, such as dwelling on the past – as the saying goes “The past is a country & I don’t live there anymore”. With the suffocating cough, I consulted Louise Hay’s  You Can Heal Your Life and found that the probable cause of coughing is

  • A desire to bark at the world. “See me! Listen to me!

…. the new thought pattern or affirmation leaps from the page to shout at me……I AM NOTICED AND APPRECIATED IN THE MOST POSITIVE WAYS. I AM LOVED
What or who no longer works for me?
Still in the tribal chakra realms….. What no longer works for me is denying my spiritual, political and core beliefs. 
I am ready to accept that there is a higher power and a realm of helpers ..be they guides or angels ….. and with the recent federal election was unable to vote with a clear conscience for either major political party and can now announce I am more aligned with the philosophy of the Greens. 

The Who is a little more tricky, but I am ready to let go of many of the people in my life who, although many of whom have been around for 30 plus years, do not exhibit the ability to demonstrate loving or compassionate support when most needed. This includes many members of the family that I married into and was further validated by their complete lack of warmth in welcoming both my son and daughter’s partners into the fold.

What am I holding on to that holds me back?
Old habits die hard…. once a pattern has been established, it is easy to replicate. It is easier to just go with the flow, rather than rock the boat. When you become accustomed to dysfunction, after a while you adapt and it becomes the norm….. Late last week, I did the “right thing” and went to a function even though I was still unwell, that I really didn’t want to go to. Even as I went, my inner voice was chattering away in my ear….”Hypocrite”…..
Another clue is the probable cause from Heal Your Life….

  • Respiratory Ailments …. Fear of taking in life fully. 

So here I am, living a twilight life because I am holding on to what is comfortable, which in reality is holding me back…
The affirmation or new thought pattern is “I am safe. I love my life”. 

Looking back at what I just wrote, the realization  dawns that what is holding me back is procrastination. Finding external excuses to justify the inertia of not making the changes. It really is up to me to create the life I love.

What thoughts or beliefs belong to the old me?
Growing up in my own dysfunctional family, there was a strong competitive streak for academic achievement between my brother and myself. Homework time was difficult as he seemed to grasp the Maths so easily and could add long lists of numbers like my father, in his head. 

It was easy to believe that I was “not good enough” at Maths, choir, sport and the list goes on. Yet I surprised everyone by getting 100% for a geometry test not long after and was most indignant when it was suggested that I had somehow cheated. I understood the shapes, the sacred geometry and could “see” how it worked, whereas the numbers alone or in algebraic formulas made no sense at all. 
Having people around me that don’t believe in me is no longer an option and last week a family member questioned me about the diagnosis of a vaccine reaction. That may not have fitted her belief system, as she has total faith in vaccinations. I need to trust in my gut reactions and create clear boundaries in order to believe in me!!

How am I being unloving to myself?
How cleverly I have manifested excess weight and recent illnesses!! 
By being unwell, the cycle of lack of energy and being unfit are ways in which I can be unkind to this physical body. 

The last couple of weeks has seen me juicing and the vitality of the fresh fruits and vegetables are helping my body and soul mend. By denying my soul connection to living a more spiritual life, by living out of integrity, I have been harsh and unloving to myself.

Am I ready to let go?
A resounding yes!!! The last few weeks have been like a hibernation… a retreat into a cocoon…. and with spring well and truly in the air, it is time to emerge and let go of the past. Yes, some of the experiences may have defined my perception of the the world, but even as my body is still weak and I am repairing, the spirit feels so much stronger and ready to soar.

What do I believe that really works for me?

It has taken a while, but I am starting to trust in myself, trusting my own judgement. So trusting in the universe a little more often seems like a pretty good idea too! 
Looking back, there have been many instances of how things have worked out just OK for me whilst all around is chaos. 
This is now the time to trust that the angels, my guides will lead me towards a future that is fulfilling and full of love, laughter and abundance.

What is going on in my life that is terrific and wonderful?
A sense of anticipation with life changes that are happening in so many subtle and wonderful ways. 
A new grandchild and observing a new family unit being created with such love, yet seeing them not accepting the dysfunctional behaviours exhibited by cousins that were once close. 
A few close and special friends who also have an interest in the spiritual and esoteric check in on me from time to time. New friends with similar ethics have offered to help and whilst this is a little strange, I can learn to be open to their warm and loving ways.

Where am I being very loving to myself?

I am allowing myself time off. Time to sit. To think. To just be. I am going within and having a big spring clean of memories, perceptions and allowing myself time to grieve. Not just for the loss of my father, but the loss of my mother who died in 1999. I went to Perth for the funeral, came back to Melbourne and life just went on and I was surrounded by people who just didn’t seem to care, or who didn’t like any expression of emotion.

Where am I most content?
I have a soul urge to go back to the bush. To have a place where I can just be. 
Not the desert, where I am equally comfortable, but a place that has some clear plains, maybe a small rise with some granite boulders and some old, river gums. 
Where I can see the sunlight glinting on the half moon, crescent shaped leaves and the textures & colours of the bark. Where I can go outside at night and see the stars.     
Let me acknowledge myself for all the growth and change.
 
What do I want to bring to my life?
Integrity, warmth and understanding and abundance.

What do I want to create?
A life with no further regrets. A life full of laughter, full of genuine friends. A life that contributes in some small way to helping others become who they truly deserve to be.

How do I want the next year to be?
Busy, yet not frantic. With time to enjoy my children’s achievements and accomplishments. A busy, but rewarding Hypnotherapy practice, seeing clients who are looking to heal their past and to realize their soul potential. Time to find that bush block and build a healing sanctuary and labyrinth to walk within.

Who do I want to bring into my world?
Friends and colleagues who are walking on the same spiritual discovery path. Soulmates, soul friends and those who have something to teach and share.

How do I want to look?
I want to look healthy and at peace.  Radiating health from within to without.

What image do I want to project?
Having taken off the masks that I wore for so long,  there is no longer a need to project an image…  that I am now finally comfortable in my own skin, what you see is what you get. I have allowed the colours and tips to grow out of my hair and am comfortable with the grey and white streaks that have appeared. I have earned these stripes!

How healthy do I want to be?
I am ready now to take better care of my health by reducing weight, leaving unhelpful habits  in the past. I want to be healthy and fit so as to build my dream and not be exhausted.

How prosperous do I want to feel?
Abundance comes in many ways and financial abundance is high on the list. The last few years have seen some struggles with financial abundance and this has allowed a greater appreciation  of the money flow when it happens.

How much love am I willing to experience?
Unlimited, unconditional love!! How big is the universe?

What kind of world do I want to live in?
 The ideal world would be a place where there is a sense of peace, a mindfulness and purpose to daily life. Where there is acceptance for difference, equality in relationships and trust that the Universe has enough for all.

Where do I want my spirituality to go?
To follow my soul urge, to create a sacred space that allows myself and others to get in touch with the core beliefs. To accept that others have their religious beliefs and not impinge upon them, yet maintaining my own boundaries as to my beliefs.

Affirm:

I know that where I am is the totality of possibilities . . . not just a few possibilities, but the totality of all creation.

I am not limited by statistics, medical opinions, time, or authorities.

I am one with the infinite wisdom and capabilities of the Universe itself.

All good is available to me, right here and right now.

All I have to do is to use the power of my thoughts to create that which I desire. I know that. Now let me live it!

Altered States

Life balance, Philosophy,

This last week has been a bit of a blur….I’ve been in an altered state due to a raging fever which is the result of a visit to my local doctor.

Harsh words you may say, but it’s cost me time off work, which when you are self employed, costs money …there is no sick leave…

I walked into the rooms on Friday feeling well …all I needed was a referral to another professional……when he found out that I was a new grandmother, said I needed to have a Whooping Cough vaccination. I queried this as I had a bout of this as a child & thought that it would give me immunity.

Apparently not so…but that depends on the doctor you are talking to.

Returning to the office, the receptionist commented on how pale I looked. Putting it down to a busy week, I shrugged it off….

Saturday saw a rash spreading down my right arm …a bit hot & I put it down to the Tetanus component…..

Sunday night or the early hours of Monday morning were a different matter. I woke coughing , unable to catch my breath until I finally threw up a heap of phlegm.

With a workshop scheduled for Monday afternoon , I desperately hoped that this would pass over. I called the surgery to say that I was unwell since the vaccination & they scheduled me in with a different doctor. I was sent for chest X-rays in case it was pneumonia, but heard nothing until Wednesday evening when the practice nurse called to check up in me.

As the results of the X-ray showed clear lungs & because I was still unwell, it was decided that this should be reported as an adverse effect of a vaccine & I am to be contacted in the next day or so by the local hospital.

So, getting back to the title of the post…I have been in a different state of mind this week… The time has come to make some changes & I will be taking down these pages -but keeping the blog posts in the next few days

 

Belonging to the tribe

family, Hypnotherapy, Past Life Regression, Philosophy, psychotherapy

Some people have no problem eliminating their “blood” family from their lives, but at what cost long term? 
 Often family members will perceive a slight or may not be privy to the whole story and so an inter-generational rift begins. 
 It may have started over a family event, such as a wedding where a child of separated parents expects more financial support than one parent can offer, or a forgotten present for  a grandchild or even neglecting to invite partners of cousins to milestone celebrations. 
The list could go on and as a therapist I have heard many stories about families. Most of the time it comes back to the perception of the event and no two people will be able to recollect an event the same way.
As the story grows stronger through the telling and re-telling over the years, resentment, anger and other negative emotions form many layers like a brittle veneer over the original event. 
Layer upon layer, passed down like a family heirloom, the toxic effects sending tendrils into all sorts of places – other relationships…….until the negativity spreads to cousins, friends of family and causes discomfort whenever the participants meet.
Looking back, is it possible to take the “righteous goggles” off or even take some time to think about what might have been going on in that other person’s life? 
As a hypnotherapist, I know that it is possible and in a session many years down the track, there may be a time when the client is able to have a conversation that resolves how they feel about the original issue. 
Sure, the other person may not be there, they may be long gone or dust,  but the energy changes and on a different level there is some resolution. 
For many people the ones you call your own may not all be “blood”, but it’s your choices that ensure, for the most time, they are loyal, honest, loving people. Surrounding yourself with like minded people is healthy, but it is also healthy to understand that for true growth, you are able to accept opinions other than your own, accept well meant criticism, accept observations and be able to forgive when someone is a little more opinionated than you prefer.
There is a popular saying  “you can’t choose your family but you can choose your friends”. Again, from a Hypnotherapist’s viewpoint. and one trained in Past Life Regression – this is not so. If you are familiar with the philosophy, the child’s soul will have chosen to incarnate into this family to learn lessons from the dynamics of this current lifetime in order to mature on a soul level. 
There is always a choice, conscious or subconscious, as to who gets to stay as your family.

Almost on top of the world!

Abundance, creativity, dreaming, Energy, energy fields, guides, Heart Chakra, Insights, Intuition, possibilty, Spirituality

A short sojourn on a property that is currently for sale.
A warm winter’s day with the scent of the wattles drifting across the senses much like the clouds lazily moving across the sky.
Surrounded by State Forest it was possible to drink up the energy of the trees  for a few moments and take a few more moments to notice some of the larger trees and just noticing the colour and textures – the difference between the new saplings pushing up and the old, mossy, bare fruit trees that remain as guardians to the ruins of an old burnt down homestead.

Using the imagination to wonder about long forgotten people who once stood on this land and dreamed their dreams.
Allowing images to come to mind and letting them go with the wafts of wattle perfume.
Observing the birds, noticing the bleached bones of a marsupial and treading carefully around them on the way down to a hidden dam.
Noticing the reflection of the forest beyond  in the still and perhaps deep waters.
Then a gentle stroll back up along the fence line that needs a little attention, considering/ wondering whether this is the right place to be.
Is this what my heart has asked for?
Noticing how it responds to the energy of the land and listening to rational thoughts about the business of buying this place. Bringing the attention to things such as conservation and Aboriginal heritage overlays. And of course the issue of wildfire….

Monday Women’s Networking

Coaching, Life balance, networking, Uncategorized

In conjunction with a colleague, I run a monthly networking meeting with a little difference.

  • no fees
  • no elevator speeches
  • no one is excluded (unlike many groups where only one of each profession are allowed) as we believe in the principles of abundance

now we are moving to a new level and want to share some of our experience and expertise with other women starting out their businesses.
You can find out more about us on our blog Monday Connections

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Continuing Education

Education, Life balance, Philosophy, , ,

ImprovementThe road to enlightenment can be bumpy or smooth, twisted or straight, forked or direct…..no matter which one you are travelling on, be certain that it is exactly the right one you are meant to be on.

The particular road in the photo is bumpy and corrugated – the legacy of being the old Ghan railway track. The railway was re-routed because of the damage caused by the Finke River flooding and regular stranding of the train, so the tracks were ripped up and the railway became a road.

It is possible to traverse this road without feeling every bump and shake….

How? ….you may ask…… by increasing your speed so that the tyres of your vehicle skim across the top/peaks of the corrugations.

And so it is with continuing education…. there are peaks and troughs, but once the momentum is gained then you move more smoothly and quickly towards your goal. With every long journey it is recommended that you have a map, but it’s not always necessary if you have a gift for navigation by the stars……and sometimes, it is the road less travelled that is the one most interesting.

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost

Work Experience

Coaching, Hypnotherapy, Life balance, Meditation, Philosophy, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Planting seedsSetting up in a Hypnotherapy or Coaching practice takes time. Do the study, then some more and then a steep learning curve on how to market yourself and perhaps find a niche.

“Find a niche an inch wide and a mile deep” was a comment made in one lecture I attended.

All well and good, but a couple of years after graduating, I was still looking for that niche like the proverbial needle in a haystack. Around me were fellow students who seemed to have easily and effortlessly slipped into their niches …Past Life Regressions, Lives between Lives, Style Coaching, Relationship Coaching, Business Coaching, Weight Loss, Stop Smoking… and the list goes on.

The bookshelves are groaning with the weight of recommended reading. The printer spits out marketing letters on a regular basis. I have sat down and written about my ideal client so many times I feel like we are conjoined twins…..

Yes, the clients are coming, but for a variety of reasons.

Mostly for weight with an underlying theme of stress.

Now that’s something I understand!

Perhaps I have stumbled upon my niche, except it doesn’t look an inch wide… more like a mile wide and a bottomless chasm deep.

The interest in stress started when I was still teaching. I noticed that if I kept an appearance of calm, then the students seemed to respond better. Combining a teaching job and parenting 2 young children meant that my meditation practice was made up of incidental moments rather than a half hour session at any one time. Breathing at the traffic lights, mindfulness when on yard duty – appreciating the moments of nature… a leaf…. an interesting cloud….

Leaving teaching for a couple of years, I went to a job where I was able to observe how people with learning difficulties reacted to stress. An interest in how the mind adapts to stress grew from here and CBT based Adolescent Counseling beckoned. Back to teaching and full-time for three years. This time the universe threw me a curved ball. Being back in the classroom with a different perspective on student learning was fabulous, but the staffroom was toxic and not entirely from the black mould growing around the school.

But that’s a whole different story to be told later…

I left.

I took time out.

I studied some more and graduated with a Diploma in Clinical Hypnotherapy and a Cert 4 in Training. I didn’t complete the Medical Intuitive course I thought was my next journey.

I went and sat in the Simpson Desert.

Then I went back to teaching part-time and a small client list part-time. Coaching studies to augment the Hypnotherapy and I was just muddling along. I didn’t have anything specifically wrong with my health, but just didn’t have the energy that I used to. Palpitations were becoming more frequent, but I dismissed them as a result of the coffee I was drinking. I didn’t notice that I wasn’t meditating any more. I was asked to speak about women and stress for a local council’s Women’s Network.  Scroll back through some of the older posts and you’ll find that speech somewhere and the events that transpired a few months later!

So now it seems that my niche found me, rather than the other way around.

How curious is that?

I’m presenting a workshop next month with the topic “From Stress to Strength – Building Resilience for the Small Business Owner”  and I’m preparing for that with a bit of work experience…

Yep!! I’m STRESSED!!

Just getting in a bit of practice….. some good stress involved this time with the imminent arrival of a grandson…some bad stress with a blind, diabetic aging dog that has to be let out to pee 2 -3 times a night.

Sleep deprivation is not good for stress management!

PastThe body mind connection is letting me know I need to manage the stress a bit better, so the emWave is getting a good workout several times a day.

Last night was a case in point. I dream. Colour. Action… always vivid. Sometimes so full of action I am tired when I wake up. Sometimes, not very often now, the events are too vivid & I have been known to wake with a blood curdling yell. That didn’t happen last night, but I woke as I threw off the covers and went to confront some intruders that weren’t there and who came through a doorway that wasn’t there….. it took quite some time to convince my conscious mind that they and the doorway didn’t exist.  This time the dog waking and going for a wander down the street at 2am was just what I needed as the activity in going looking for him helped to dissipate the stress hormones and I was able to get back to sleep relatively quickly.

A couple of emWave sessions before starting writing showed that I was entering into “Coherence” fairly easily. More sessions scheduled this morning before the afternoon clients.

It’s all about putting yourself first, to better serve clients.

It could be called Work Experience!

Marketing

Coaching, Education, , , , ,

….aka shameless self promotion……

Actually if I don’t do it no-one else will….  the business is still at the size where it’s only me. I’m the Therapist, the secretary, the accountant, the publicist, the workshop presenter, the social media guru……

Yes, I’ve read the E-Myth and I have systems in place, manuals written but the bottom line is that I’m the technician, the manager and all the other fancy titles that were in the book and you could think to dream up as I am not yet ready to outsource. Those who know me well will recognize one of my fairly strong traits of not letting go……

I actually believe that that’s a positive for the moment. It means that I am on a steep learning curve for marketing –  finding out what works and what doesn’t – as well as SEO for the websites. There have been some interesting conversations with telemarketers abusing me for not wanting to use their overseas services, when I am a supporter of home grown talent and keeping jobs local. That’s not an invitation for SEO people outside Australia to spam me with their pitch either. Fact is, I don’t write here to be on page 1 of Google – I write because I like to and maybe there are a few people interested. Call it my 5 minutes of fame…..

So take a look at my latest online venturing.. it’s called a pitch site.

http://balance4life-programs.crushpath.me/hypnotherapy

Getting the Right Message

Coaching, Hypnotherapy, Life balance, Philosophy, , , , , , ,

let it goWe are bombarded daily with messages …..buy this…..do that…… and whilst our conscious mind can filter out what is important to us at this moment and what is not, our subconscious mind is listening in, filing the information away, just in case it is useful later on……

If you are familiar with NLP, you will know that the filters will

  • Delete
  • Distort
  • Generalize.

Added to that is how we process the information through our senses.

This could be

  • Visual – Sight
  • Auditory- Sound
  • Kinesthetic –Touch
  • Olfactory –Smell
  • Gustatory –Taste

These are our Representational Systems.

These senses also contribute to the words that we process or use, so using Visual based communication would include pictures but also words that are visual such as “looks like…”, “to get a perspective….”, “beyond a shadow of a doubt…..”,  “appears to me….”, “can you see that….”, “it looks good….”, “focus on……”, “show me…..”. And it is similar for the other senses….

How we view the past is coloured by our perception. Five people with the five different processing skills listed above who witnessed a car accident would have vastly different accounts of the event, yet all be correct. Not only is our  Representational System a major factor in how we remember, but our values or belief systems and our emotions also contribute to how our memories are formed.

If you have young children, you might be aware that they go through a stage where they tell lies. It’s part of the maturational process, but they believe what they are saying is true….. much like our current crop of politicians, but that’s another story…..

They are using their imagination, and we are all born with a fantastic imagination. We can create anything in our minds, we can also re-create our memories. This is especially useful if the memories are painful. Using the Hypnotic state, you can return to any time or place in your past and reframe the outcome to make it more positive or less hurtful. You can use the Gestalt process to have those conversations you wished you could have had at the time – this process is quite healing.

So just perhaps, when the past does call – it’s the subconscious mind bringing up something to work with, to reframe, to heal. You just don’t have to live there anymore and can return to a brighter future, bringing back some gems of wisdom or an insight to help you move forward.

 

 

Trust

Coaching, conversation, Emotional baggage, Energy, friendship, lessons learned, Philosophy, toxicity


Trust is like an egg and it’s not like an egg.

If you want to break an egg you have to do it from the outside. 
The only way to break up a trust is from the inside.
O. Henry

Agaricus Muscaris – Beautiful but deadly…..the toxins in this toadstool act on the brain, producing vertigo and delirium …. with the symptoms developing after a period of 12 – 14 hours. There is no antidote and the end result is total paralysis.
Homeopathically, it can be used for neuralgia, vertigo and some skin conditions. In the homeopathic preparation, it is not toxic when used appropriately. The poison resembles that of the rattlesnake and acts on the red blood corpuscles……..Trust as I’d trust a rattlesnake —Anon
There is a restlessness from violent itching and on falling asleep will start and twitch, waking often. ……

Walking away from a conversation several months back, I had the feeling that I shouldn’t have shared a personal comment. I don’t sleep well at the best of times and often the subconscious mind will take a while to process.  Head … awhirl with doubts like a sky full of starlings — George Garrett …..and I will often find myself awake in the early hours of the morning, sitting bolt upright with an idea or a revelation. 
I had a niggling feeling that the conversation would be repeated, but decided to give the person the benefit of doubt. 
In coaching, there is an exercise that is useful in deciding if a relationship is open and honest. So I asked myself the following questions:

  • How comfortable am I with this person now?
  • Am I able to express myself freely with this person in the future?
  • Will I avoid talking about certain subjects or situations with this person
  • Am I lying to this person, by hiding the truth?
  • Does this person ever avoid talking about similar things with me?

No more to be trusted (with news) than a cat with a saucer of milk —Christopher Isherwood …..another social situation and a different person in the social group makes an interesting, but off-topic comment……didn’t think much of it at the time……. but a week or so later, the penny dropped. The trust that I placed in my “friend” was misplaced….. A secret in his [the gossip’s] mouth is like a wild bird put into a cage; whose door no sooner opens, but it is out —Ben Jonson
So, with this person I will become like the echidna who curls up into a ball, so that the soft underbelly is protected by spikes, until the threat is past. I will carefully choose my words in her company. I no longer feel comfortable in her company, as I will be avoiding divulging anything personal or emotional. I will form my conversation around questions about her, not to share the elicited answers but to engage her in conversation about herself and fill the time.

 Friendship is like a butterfly’s wing, once it’s torn it may never fly again 
– Anon